You cannot help being happy here..

Usually the family visits the happiest place on earth aka Disneyland during Thanksgiving and celebrate the parents birthdays. This year, we were not sure what was going to happen during thanksgiving. 

Both the kids were new college bound.. the older one for a masters and the younger one starting undergrad.

At the end of summer we knew they were both going to be in Southern California 2 hours apart in two different UC's. 

So we made a plan on the long weekend to go visit both schools, hunt for housing for the older one, look at the college for the younger one to see how she will fit in and as an added bonus, given we cross Disney, dedicate one day for Disney as well. 

The college visits were not much.. they were empty and deserted as it was a long weekend and in hindsight it was a bad idea to show the kids deserted eerie large open spaces and collosal buildings. Does not help form a good first impression. Still that is where they ended up and have settled in. Both of them got hit with health issues and local hospital and ER visits within a quarter. All that seems to be behind us. This post is about our Disney visit.

Given we have almost been there every alternate year for the last 24 (this blog probably has enough entries to make a parade evolution video), this maybe just "yet another Disney post". 

We did smile all day, have fun, go see the latest Star Wars show. You have to see it. It is just too amazing for words (there are small bits in the video.. but not giving anything away so you go see it for yourself)!

Enjoyed as many rides as possible in one day, but didn't sit in the cold for fireworks. We saw it on the way to the parking lot. We had dinner reservations for a mexican place right outside the gate but within the Disney walkway to the parking lot. So we rushed to have dinner, then watched the fireworks and walked back to the hotel. 

Here are a few memories for later.

The kids wanted to go to Plant power, a burger chain which was apparently the place to be for Veggie burgers! So went with them and ate fries while they enjoyed the burgers as an early evening snack.

We also got to eat at a small Indian restaurant right next this place called Star of India. That place did not disappoint. It was very good snacks and amazing ginger chai!

We did some shopping including my first visit to a thrift store to buy things! The kids had made a reservation at a fancy place, Osteria La Buca (in Melrose) for dinner and we enjoyed that as well. The candle lights were a special touch!

We also got to eat at a place later in Santa Barbara called Masala Spice. That was also good. Finger licking good. 

Have always failed at these pictures that they take.. so we never end up buying one. Someday, I will stare at that camera and smile. The family was mocking me for a good hour after this. "Even Disney is giving us something for free and you mess it up!"

and the parade.. we always love this parade of old and new Disney characters.. they make it so much fun!

Our visit to a sea of storm troopers! We were talking about the possibility of "storm trooping" being a minimum wage job, now that the kids are older and our conversations in Disney seem to be different every now and then.. then the kids hit me with some snarky comment to put me back in my place, so we can all be just kids again and enjoy the rides!

A picture with the main star of the place. We stood in line for more than an hour to get this picture!

and the final fireworks!

and a video as usual!

our smiling faces say it all..

There was a picture of the girls in a tea cup that brough back memories from a different tea cup ride in San Jose downtown.

Kids are all grown up.. but happy to see them still be kids in tea cups!

I am happiest when my girls are all smiles.

This place is priceless!

Given almost every trip has a bittersweet ending for me recently, this one also did. Here is a public service annoucement. Always wear sunglasses when driving back from LA back to the bay area. Yes, the sun is in your face when you drive back and your eyes are wide open after a few hectic days in theme parks or otherwise. The wind is almost always kicking up crap on 101 North when you are near the San Antonio de Padua mission exit. Something went into my eye. It took me a good week to get better after washing and treating it. 

Wear those damn sunglasses..even if you think you don't look good in them. You can thank me later!

A very happy Deepavali to every one

2020 is the year of staying at home. Deepavali is a stay at home festival for the morning but in the evening, you go see all your friends and relatives and join them in the firecracker fun.. 

This year it has been a muted affair. The gatherings are smaller and we meet only people in "our bubble" which is a good thing.

We did have new clothes, great eats and some sparklers! San and me teamed up to make a lot of sweets and savories (and she got some guidance from our neighbor on some sweets and they reminded me of my grandma cooking with her aunt Ambulu when we were kids.. they would spend days planning before the cooking started!). We did go solo on some items..

She sparkles better than those sparklers..It was a good thing I adjusted an almost underexposed shot and realized this was actually a good thing!

This is the first Diwali without jr. being present at home. That was constantly in the back of my head and I am not sure how many years it will take for me to realize that you cannot expect to see kids for Diwali or take that for granted anymore! Given every now and then I manage to go to India to celebrate with my parents, know that the kids will come back home after they grow up to celebrate.. maybe more often than I did.

The little one knows of my secret plan to keep her closer to home and continues to roll her eyes everytime I suggest colleges within a 20 mile radius. 

Life comes full circle.. What I did to my parents, my kids will do to me. Good news is that I am already in the "brace" position. 

It is my sincere wish that we get over COVID soon in the coming year! People are still dying and folks are still denying the truth and reality. Diwali or Deepavali is literally the triump of truth over lies, light over darkness.. knowledge is the true illuminator! 

May knowledge and facts make a comeback after this Diwali !! 

For someone who is staying at home, we have done a good job dressing up at every opportunity.. 

Still don't know how my wife is able to handle Jr.'s being away so calmly compared to me. Either she is made of different stuff or she is faking it really well. Have some things to learn and understand.

Once again, wishing you all a wonderful Deepavali/ Diwali!!

Cognitive dissonance in a Chinese Hotel

Travel for the year is done. That was 13 trips to Asia in 2017. Of the 26 legs across the Pacific I managed to get upgraded to Polaris aka the "business economy" class 4 times exhausting most of my miles. On some back to back trips, my company got me biz tickets one way and that was another 3 legs.  The one thing I am am trying to do if this back breaking travel keeps continuing is to plan ahead and get more polaris tickets upfront. Travel is fine, but for this type of international travel, my body is having a tough time dealing with this. That is one main disadvantage of working for a startup I guess. We don't have the bargaining power or leverage with airline companies to get discounted bulk ticket prices like the big companies. One last wing view for 2017...

All that said, I did my best on those flights, took my food with me wherever possible and managed to minimize my travel related sick days to the lowest it has been in the last 4 years in 2017! I also think it correlates to the consistancy of doing Yoga at late hours or whenever possible and to waking up at 2 or 3AM and eating cookies or some carbs.

We use the term "biological clock". I think there are multiple clocks. One for sleep wake cycle, one for breakfast, lunch and dinner and another alarm clock that gets you up when you are a light sleeper. Not all these are synchronized when you don't see the sun for days or when you keep switching time zones. In 2017, my issue was not with sleep. I managed to overcome sleep related jet lag issues. It was the stomach related ones that got me a few times. 

My last trip was interesting. I am noticing that Chinese hotels are getting big on Christmas. Have not seen this in any of my previous trips. Sure that the POTUS is going to claim this as another one of his big "victories". Mega displays in hotel lobbies and my Chinese friends are surprised and going "we don't even do this for CHinese new Year. don't know what is up with these guys!"

These were really fancy.. with moving snow etc.. see the video!

I have also started watching infomercials in the local TV channels when in China. They definitely seem to have some creative products. Not sure if this is original or not but the format of the informercials follows the usual QVC types. 

 Then there are little things that I noticed in these hotels. The nice glasses with color only at the bottom..

Then there was an entire display of stuff on the coffee table, all available at a price. I am not used to this in previous hotels. The first thing that got my attention was the water bottle. It was almost 9 USD. Then after asking they gave me 4 free local brand water. Apparently this Evian water is much sought after by international tourists who are willing to pay the price!

Was also not used to seeing Durex on the table in any other hotel. It said "you will be charged if you open this packet" and it was one expensive Durex is what I thinking when my eyes were drawn to a big red box on the right. 

I had spent a good two hours in a cigarette smelling taxi from airport to hotel and was already tired. My brain was getting confused signals after reading the lettering on the box..

It clearly said Emergency Package but the lettering did not suggest something "bad" with the font or the colors. So my first thought was "what kind of emergency package comes packed like a goody bag filled with fancy tea bags?". Again this was one expensive package for whatever emergency it was. You opened it you "will be charged"

I have no idea what those items are in that box. After being married for almost 20 years and fathering two kids, still scratching my head on what those things in the pack were. Was tempted to pay the 20 bucks just to open it and end my curiousity and then decided against it. What is the internet for than to answer such questions?

So I guess this is all sex related. First you have a 10 Dollar problem. If you screwed that up, no pun intended, then you have a 20 dollar problem. If you screwed that up as well, then you have a 20 Million RMB problem in 20 years when you will have to buy your kid an apartment in Shanghai so he can get married. If they had done their marketing right, they should put some real estate fliers on the other end of the table.

Then there was the sunset. People keep telling you that China is polluted, especially in the big cities. Over the last few years I have seen some days where the Sun is not visible though the smog and days when there are blue skies and clouds. Well I guess a lot of it depends on where and when. While the news reports claimed that it was going to be bad air days, I found it to be pretty fresh. There was a beautiful sunset while being on the road for 2 hours towards the hotel. 

Watching the sun go down always resets any and all dissonances!

2017 was a tough but good year for work, home and yoga. It felt like two years but the good thing is it is coming to a close. Have to make the most out of the last few days over the holiday weekend to recharge!

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas and a wonderful new year! 

Happy Holidays 2015!

Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season!

This year Jr. got a visit from her "not so secret santa" and got a new Alto Saxophone to celebrate the holidays. Her old saxophone had a rod and screw drop off after her last school performance. The part is in back order till end of January. Given she has other performances coming and the fact that she has wanted to graduate from a student saxophone to a professional grade one.. we relented! We are also tired of doing the pickup and drop off from her school because she has to haul this large saxophone case to practice. From February she can leave the student version in school and practice on the pro instrument at home!

These instruments are expensive. So this is the last one we are buying her. They tell us this will last 10-15 years. We have nicely informed Jr. that she will be buying her next saxophone with her own paycheck! 

So far she loves the sound of the Yamaha YAS 62-III. It is also lighter than her student version. Why a student version will be heavier is beyond me.

The Christmas holiday has started today. 

The kids were practicing their music this morning and with a lot of censoring I am pleased to announce that this version has been approved for the blog..

Our entire family wishes you a very merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday!

Global Winter Wonderland

This year we have a new Christmas attraction that is local. A "Global Winter Wonderland" in the parking lot area of the Great America Park in Santa Clara.

Guess they bought all the props from the Beijing Olympics at garage sale prices and set it up in Santa Clara. The whole thing was like a Chinese Christmas celebration with "Chineseized" doll displays of American icons including Disney themes!

The "Global" was thanks to the following displays and they were all very impressive.

The ticket prices were a rip off considering there was separate tickets (3$ a ticket per kid per ride) and an entrance ticket of 9$/person on discount! There should have been no entrance tickets for the kids and that would have come close to being fair. Nevertheless, we had already promised the kids that we were going there and we had no choice in the matter once there.

We made the most of a very cold evening and spent a good 3 hours wandering around the light displays, taking photographs and having the kids go on a few rides and try some of the carnival type attractions.

The kids were happy and tired enough to eat a speedy dinner and go to bed fast. So from that stand point it was a good deal! Next year we will be back to Christmas in the park. For all we know, might still take the kids there one of these days.

Some snippets of the three hours caught on video..

Next year if this attraction is still there, might go only if there are some discounted tickets... then again the rest of the family thought it was okay for the price we paid.

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